Sugar reduction in drinks: 2015 to 2024
1 Introduction
This report provides information on trends in the purchasing of soft drinks, juices and milk-based drinks that are taken into the home for consumption. It examines changes in purchasing behaviour between the baseline periods in 2015 (soft drinks) and 2017 (juices and milk-based drinks) and 2024. It presents changes in overall sales, sugar content (for both total sugar purchased and average sugar content per 100ml) and average calories per single serving. Data for soft drinks are also presented by social grade (based on the occupation of the main wage earner of the household) and life stage of the household (based on the age profile of different members of the household).
Diets high in sugar increase the risk of dental decay and weight gain. Being overweight or living with obesity increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers. The latest data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that sugar intakes in children remain around double the maximum dietary recommendation and soft drinks provide 13% of sugar intake in those aged 11 to 18 years.
This report is an update of analysis in the previous sugar reduction programme report. The previous report looked at changes in the sugar content of food, as part of the voluntary sugar reduction programme, whereas this report focuses solely on drinks.
The voluntary sugar reduction programme was launched in 2016. It set an ambition for all sectors of the food industry to voluntarily reduce sugar by 20% by 2020 in the food categories that contribute most to the dietary intakes of children aged up to 18 years.
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) has been running alongside the sugar reduction programme. It was announced in the Budget in March 2016 and came into law in April 2018. The SDIL applies to manufacturers and importers of beverages containing added sugar and aims to encourage manufacturers and retailers to reduce the sugar content in their drink products.
The SDIL includes 2 rates of tax, depending on the sugar content:
- the ‘standard rate’ (£1.94 per 10 litres) applies to drinks with total sugar content between 5g and 7.9g per 100ml
- the ‘higher rate’ (£2.59 per 10 litres) applies to drinks with total sugar content of 8g or more per 100ml
There is currently no tax applied to drinks with sugar content of less than 5g per 100ml. However, the analysis in this report includes drinks with a sugar content of less than 5g per 100ml. It is important to include them to assess any reformulation of products, and overall changes in consumer behaviour.
In the 2024 Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced that SDIL would be uprated to bring it in line with inflation, which would apply from 1st April 2025 (the rates above take account of the first of these increases). It was also announced that certain aspects of the SDIL would be reviewed to ensure it remains effective. A consultation was published in April 2025 setting out proposed changes to reduce the minimum sugar content at which SDIL applies from 5g to 4g total sugar per 100ml; and to remove the exemption for milk-based and milk substitute drinks.
In May 2018, unsweetened juice (sweetened juice already being part of the SDIL) and sweetened milk-based drinks (for example milkshakes, and flavoured milk alternatives) were incorporated into the voluntary sugar reduction programme, having been excluded from the SDIL. The sugar reduction guidelines for industry: juice and milk-based drinks set out the ambition for all sectors of industry to reduce sugar by 5% in unsweetened juice-based drinks and 20% in milk-based drinks by 2021.
In January 2019, fermented (yogurt) drinks were also added to the programme, with a sugar reduction ambition of 20% by 2021 published in the sugar reduction guidelines for industry: fermented (yogurt) drinks. Calorie (kcal) guidelines for products likely to be consumed in a single occasion were also set for some drinks categories included in the voluntary sugar reduction programme.
Please note that from now on, where the report refers to “juices”, this means unsweetened juices, as sweetened juices are already covered by the SDIL.
Metrics used to measure progress
The SDIL analysis uses 2 main metrics to measure progress against the sugar reduction ambitions: sales weighted average (SWA) for sugar content (g per 100ml) and SWA for calories per serving for products sold as a single serving. The juices and milk-based drinks analysis uses 4 main metrics: SWA for sugar content (g per 100ml) simple average (SA) for sugar content (g per 100ml), SWA calories per serving and the percentage of products meeting the guidelines for maximum calories for a single serving.
To calculate the sales weighted average, the average (mean) sugar content of each drink product is weighted by its total sales volume in litres to give more influence to products with higher sales. Therefore, changes to the sugar content of products with higher sales will have a greater impact on the SWA than changes for products with fewer sales. This is the same for SWA for calories per serving.
To calculate the simple average, products are not weighted according to volume sales, so this measures the average (mean) sugar content of products regardless of how much is sold.
Some juice and milk-based drinks categories have guidelines for the maximum number of calories per single serving. The metric used in this report looks at the percentage of products within each category where the number of calories is below the maximum guideline (therefore meeting the guidelines). The higher the number the better.
See the Appendix for more information about these metrics.
Juice and milk-based drink categories
A number of different categories are used in the analysis of juices and milk-based drinks. The table below presents these and the different types of products found in each category.
| Category | Types of products |
|---|---|
| Pre-packed mono juices | 100% apple juice, 100% orange juice |
| Pre-packed blended juices | Mixed 100% juices, juices blended with dairy where the greater percentage is juice, juice with water combinations drinks (minimum 20% juice), nut and plant sap water |
| Pre-packed fermented (yogurt) drinks | Kefirs, pre and probiotics, lassis, plant stanols and sterols |
| Coffee and tea powders, syrups and pods (as consumed) | As described, though analysis is based on the product as made up according to manufacturer’s instructions (for example, mixed with water or milk), not how it is purchased (just the powder or syrup by itself) |
| Hot chocolate and malt powders, syrups and pods (as consumed) | As described, though analysis is based on the product as made up according to manufacturer’s instructions (for example, mixed with water or milk), not how it is purchased (just the powder or syrup by itself) |
| Milkshake powders syrups and pods (as consumed) | As described, though analysis is based on the product as made up according to manufacturer’s instructions (for example, mixed with water or milk), not how it is purchased (just the powder or syrup by itself) |
| Pre-packed milk-based drinks | Milkshakes, flavoured milks, coffees, smoothies with larger percentage dairy |
| Pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks | Drinks in scope made with milk substitutes, for example almond milk |
2 Key findings
Drinks subject to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy
Between 2015 and 2024 there was an increase of 13.5% in the volume sales of drinks covered by the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL). Despite this increase in volume sales there was a decrease of 39.8% in the total sugar sold from these drinks. This was due to an increase in sales of drinks with lower sugar content and decrease in sales of drinks with higher sugar content.
This shift in sales resulted in a reduction of 47.4% in the sales weighted average (SWA) sugar content (g per 100ml) of drinks purchased and a reduction of 42.2% in the SWA calories per portion.
There was an increase in the proportion of volume sales which came from drinks that incurred no levy from 67% in 2015 to 91% in 2024.
There was a reduction in the SWA sugar content (g per 100ml) of drinks purchased across all the social grades. This ranged from a reduction of 51.8% in group AB (higher and intermediate, administrative and professional occupations) to 45% in group E (state benefits, casual and lowest grade workers).
There was a reduction in the SWA sugar content (g per 100ml) of drinks purchased in all life stage groups. This ranged from 39.6% in the “pre-family” group to 54.3% in the “older family” group.
Juices and milk-based drinks
Compared with products subject to the SDIL, the volumes sold in the juices and milk-based drinks categories were relatively small. For example, pre-packed mono juices, the largest of these categories by volume sold, is equivalent to around 13% of the total volume of drinks sold subject to the SDIL.
The change in volume sales and sugar content (in terms of both total sugar purchased and average sugar content per 100ml) of juices and milk-based drinks presents a mixed picture.
Between 2017 and 2024 there was a reduction in the volume sales of pre-packed mono juices (down 5.2%) and pre-packed blended juices (down 6.8%) as well as a reduction in the amount of sugar sold from these drinks (down 6.9% and 7.8% respectively). There was little change in the simple average (SA) sugar content (g per 100ml) of mono juices and pre-packed blended juices.
In the same time period, there were increases in the volume sales of pre-packed fermented (yogurt) drinks (up 24.3%), pre-packed milk-based drinks (up 53.2%) and pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks (up 18.7%). The amount of sugar sold from the first 2 categories also increased but by a smaller percentage (by 12.5% and 30.3% respectively), though reduced in the last category (down 4.7%). As a result there was a reduction in the sales weighted avergae (SWA) sugar content (g per 100ml) of pre-packed fermented (yogurt) drinks (down 15.2%), pre-packed milk-based drinks (down 32.4%) and pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks (down 28%).
For those products sold in single servings between 2017 and 2024, pre-packed milk-based drinks and pre-packed blended juices both showed an increase in the percentage of products at or below the maximum calorie guideline. 3 categories (pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks, pre-packed fermented (yogurt) drinks and pre-packed mono-juices) showed a decrease. However, for all categories, at least 85% of drinks sold in servings were below the maximum calorie guidelines.
3 Context
Figure 3.1 to Figure 3.3 show how sales have changed between the baseline year and 2024. For drinks covered by the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) the baseline year is 2015. For juices and milk-based drinks the baseline year is 2017. The order of the legend is the same as the order of the bars for all bar charts in this report.
For drinks covered by the SDIL there was an increase of over 500 million litres sold (523 million litres) which equates to a 13.5% increase in volume sales. In comparison, volume sales were much lower for juices and milk-based drinks, although pre-packed milk-based drinks, pre-packed fermented (yogurt) drinks and pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks saw increases of 53.2%, 24.3% and 18.7% respectively. There were reductions in volumes sales for both pre-packed mono juices (down 5.2%) and pre-packed blended juices (down 6.8%).
Figure 3.1 to 3.3: Volume sales of soft drinks and juices and milk-based drinks in the baseline year and 2024
There was a reduction in the amount of sugar sold by drinks covered by the SDIL of approximately 57,000 tonnes which equates to a 39.8% decrease (see Figure 3.4 to Figure 3.6).
Pre-packed mono juices, pre-packed blended juices and pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks all showed a reduction in the amount of sugar sold (by 6.9%, 7.8% and 4.7% respectively). However, pre-packed fermented (yogurt) drinks and pre-packed milk-based drinks showed increases in the amount of sugar sold (up 12.5% and up 30.3% respectively). Please note that sales information for the 3 categories containing powders, syrups and pods are not included here as they are sold on a different basis (for example in kg for powders and servings for pods) and need to be prepared before they are consumed.
Figure 3.4 to 3.6: Sugar sales of soft drinks and juices and milk-based drinks in the baseline year and 2024
4 Drinks subject to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy
As shown in Figure 3.1, there was an increase in the total volume sold of drinks subject to the SDIL between 2015 and 2024. Figure 4.1 shows that this increase was driven solely by drinks that contained less than 5g of sugar per 100ml and thus incurred no levy.
Figure 4.1: Volume sales of soft drinks in 2015 and 2024
Figure 4.2 shows that around two-thirds (67%) of volume sales in 2015 were for drinks containing less than 5g of sugar per 100ml, 7.5% were for drinks containing between 5g and 8g of sugar per 100ml and 25.6% for drinks containing more than 8g of sugar per 100ml. In 2024, the percentage of volume sales in the group containing less than 5g of sugar per 100ml had increased to 90.5% with sales in the group between 5g and 8g of sugar per 100ml falling to 0.7% and the group containing over 8g of sugar per 100ml falling to 8.8% of sales.
Figure 4.2: Proportion of drink sales subject to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy
The combined effect of the increase in volume sales, decrease in sugar sales and change in distribution of products available from those higher in sugar to those lower in sugar is a decrease in the average sugar content of drinks covered by the SDIL. Specifically the sales weighted average (SWA) sugar content fell from 3.7g per 100ml in 2015 to 1.9g per 100ml in 2024 which is a reduction of nearly 50% (reduction of 47.4% in SWA sugar content (g per 100ml)) and a decrease of more than 40% in the average calorie content of products covered by the SDIL sold in a single serving (reduction of 42.2% in the SWA of calories per single serving) as seen in Figure 4.3 and Figure 4.4.
Figure 4.3 to 4.4: Sales weighted average total sugar (g per 100ml) and calories (kcal per serving) of drinks subject to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy
Figure 4.5 shows the distribution of the sugar content of drinks products available. In 2015 there were 2 distinct peaks – the first close to zero and the other between 10g and 11g of sugar per 100ml. The distribution for 2024 shows a clear move to the left. There are again 2 distinct peaks – the first still close to zero and the other just below 5g of sugar per 100ml. This highlights the shift in the market between 2015 and 2024 to drinks containing less than 5g of sugar per 100ml which are exempt from the SDIL.
Figure 4.5: Number of drinks subject to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy
Analysis by life stage
Figure 4.12 to Figure 4.14 show the total volume sales, total sugar sales and the change between 2015 and 2024 by life stage groups. All groups saw both an increase in total volume sales and a decrease in total sugar sales apart from the young family group, which saw a decrease in total volume sales between 2015 and 2024 of 17.6%. For details of the life stage groups, see the Appendix.
Figure 4.12 to 4.14: Volume and sugar sales of drinks subject to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy by life stage
Figure 4.15 to Figure 4.17 show the distribution of sales, the sales weighted average (SWA) sugar content (in 2015 and 2024) and the percentage change in the SWA of sugar content between 2015 and 2024. The pattern is very similar for all life stage groups; the percentage of volume sales which incur no levy increased from around 67% in 2015 to 90% in 2024, and all groups saw a reduction in the SWA sugar content of the drinks they purchased (ranging from 39.6% in the pre-family group to 54.3% in the older family group).
Figure 4.15 to 4.17: Sugar content of drinks subject to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy by life stage
5 Juices and milk-based drinks
The sugar reduction guidelines for industry: juice and milk-based drinks had a series of ambitions for each category. Table 2 states what these are. Some ambitions are measured by the simple average (SA) due to the nature of how the product is sold (pods, powders and syrups) or the ingredients of the product (such as mono juices, where the natural sugar content can vary naturally). Others are measured by the sales weighted average (SWA). For more information, please see the section on as consumed products in the appendix.
| Category | Reduction ambition for sugar | Maximum calories per serving ambition |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-packed mono juices | No increase in baseline SA | 150 kcals |
| Pre-packed blended juices | 5% SWA reduction in sugar per 100ml | 150 kcals |
| Pre-packed fermented (yogurt) drinks | 20% SWA reduction in sugar per 100ml | 300 kcals |
| Coffee and tea powders, syrups and pods (as consumed) | 20% SA reduction in sugar per 100ml | Not applicable |
| Hot chocolate and malt powders, syrups and pods (as consumed) | 20% SA reduction in sugar per 100ml | Not applicable |
| Milkshake powders syrups and pods (as consumed) | 20% SA reduction in sugar per 100ml | Not applicable |
| Pre-packed milk-based drinks | 20% SWA reduction in sugar per 100ml | 300 kcals |
| Pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks | 20% SWA reduction in sugar per 100ml | 300 kcals |
Figure 5.1 to Figure 5.4 show the change in both the simple average (SA) and sales weighted average (SWA) (see the Appendix for a definition of these measures) between 2017 and 2024 for the different categories of juices and milk-based drinks.
Figure 5.1 and Figure 5.2 shows a reduction in the SA sugar content (g per 100ml) in 5 of the 8 categories (ranging from an 8.9% decrease in coffee and tea powders, syrups and pods to a 42.7% decrease in pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks) with little change in the remaining 3 categories.
Figure 5.3 and Figure 5.4 show a reduction in the SWA sugar content (g per 100ml) of drinks purchased for 3 of the 4 categories where it is measured. Pre-packed milk-based drinks (down 32.4%), pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks (down 28%) and pre-packed fermented (yogurt) drinks (down 15.2%) showed a reduction. There was little change for pre-packed blended juices.
Figure 5.1 to 5.4: Average sugar per 100ml in juices and milk-based drinks
For those products sold in single servings, pre-packed milk-based drinks and pre-packed blended juices both showed an increase in the percentage of products at or below the guideline for the maximum calories per serving between 2017 and 2024 (see Figure 5.7). However, pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks and pre-packed fermented (yogurt) drinks showed a decrease in the percentage of products at or below this guideline and there was little change for pre-packed mono-juices.
Figure 5.5 to 5.7: Average calories per serving in juices and milk-based drinks
6 Conclusion
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has led to a large decline in the amount of sugar purchased from soft drinks, in terms of both total sugar sold and the sales weighted average sugar content (g per 100ml) of drinks purchased. The analysis in this report shows that this decline in the amount of sugar purchased has been seen across all social grades and life stage groups.
The impact of including juices and milk-based drinks in the voluntary sugar reduction guidelines has been mixed. While there have been decreases in sugar purchased as measured by the sales weighted average sugar content (g per 100ml) in some categories (pre-packed milk-based drinks, pre-packed fermented (yoghurt) drinks and pre-packed flavoured mild substitute drinks), there has been little change in others (such as pre-packed blended juices). However, this last category and pre-packed milk-based drinks have seen an increase in the percentage of products, within these categories, below the maximum calorie guidelines.
7 Appendix
Data tables
Tables of the data used for this report are available here: Data tables - sugar reduction in drinks: 2015 to 2024
Data source
The analysis in this report is based on commercially available data from Worldpanel by Numerator (formerly Kantar’s Worldpanel). This includes data on volume of sales and nutrition information for food and drink taken into the home.
The baseline year for analysis of drinks subject to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) uses data collected over the 52 weeks ending 31 January 2016. For juices and milk-based drinks the baseline year is based on data collected in the 52 weeks ending 09 September 2017. The 2024 dataset uses data for the 52 weeks ending 02 September 2024.
Nutrition data is collected at category level, on a rolling basis throughout the year, every 4 months.
Methodology
Metrics used to assess sugar content (grams per 100ml)
Sales weighted average (SWA) total sugar content (grams per 100ml)
The average (mean) sugar content of each food product is weighted by its total sales volume in litres to give more influence to products with higher sales. Therefore, changes to the sugar content of products with higher sales will have a greater impact on the sales weighted average than changes to products with fewer sales.
Simple average (SA) total sugar content (grams per 100ml)
The simple arithmetic average of total sugar content. Products are not weighted according to volume sales in this calculation, so this measures the average (mean) sugar content of products regardless of how much is sold.
To assess changes in the sugar content of milk-based drinks (with the exception of Table 8 of the accompanying data tables), allowances have been made for naturally occurring sugars in milk (lactose) and for a basic level of sweetening for milk substitute drinks, as the sugars per 100ml guidelines are based on a percentage reduction of the added sugar content rather than the total sugar content. These allowances were established for the technical guidelines (Sugar reduction guidelines for industry: juice and milk-based drinks) in collaboration with relevant trade bodies and industry. Although specific to the category, rather than the product, the allowances are as accurate as possible. Their values can be seen in Appendix table 1.
| Category | Sugar allowance per 100ml |
|---|---|
| Pre-packed fermented (yogurt) drinks | 3.8g |
| Coffee and tea powders, syrups and pods (as consumed) | 1.5g |
| Hot chocolate and malt powders, syrups and pods (as consumed) | 2.8g |
| Milkshake powders syrups and pods (as consumed) | 5.2g |
| Pre-packed milk-based drinks | 5.2g |
| Pre-packed flavoured milk substitute drinks | 2.0g |
Metrics used to assess calorie content (kcal per serving)
Sales weighted average (SWA) calories in products likely to be consumed on a single occasion (kcal per single serving)
This measure is restricted to a subset of products which are likely to be consumed on a single occasion. It is the average (mean) number of calories (expressed as kcals) per serving of each product, where the contribution of each product to the average is weighted by its total sales volume in servings. The metric is designed to adjust for any potential negative impacts of reducing sugar such as increasing calories at the same time or increasing the size of a portion.
Powders and syrups in the milk-based drinks analysis have been excluded from this metric as consumers take variable sized servings out of a pack and it is therefore not possible to measure single serve portions as there is no standard size. Pods and sachets have also not been included as consumers could have more than a single pod or sachet to make up their drink.
Proportion of products at or below the maximum calorie guidelines
This measure is also restricted to the subset of products which are likely to be consumed on a single occasion. It is used to assess juices and milk-based drinks. The proportion of products at or below the maximum calorie guidelines is calculated as a percentage of all products in the category that are single serve. This measure gives a further sense of progress in different categories.
Data limitations
Data collection
All forms of data collection are subject to certain limitations. The following are worth noting in the context of this report:
The purchase data received from Worldpanel by Numerator is based on a Great Britain (GB) (England, Scotland and Wales, not including Northern Ireland) household panel sample and the nutrient information is collected by a combination of fieldworkers and web-scraping. Whilst the household panel data used is demographically representative of the GB population and uses weighting methodologies to be reflective of GB purchasing, there are nuances to using panel data which need to be factored in when analyzing this dataset.
Worldpanel by Numerator’s fieldworkers enter stores to collect back of pack nutrition information on a rolling 4-month basis. Not all products will be available on shelf and therefore this is supplemented by web-scraping and utilising images taken for coding purposes. Many reformulation changes are captured through this process but in some instances, due to the frequency, they may not be picked up and reported in the year that they occur.
There is a minimum home technology ownership and internet access requirement to be part of the Worldpanel by Numerator GB panels. This means the purchasing and consumption of groups who do not meet these minimum requirements are less well represented within the findings.
Buyer behaviour panels reflect what the shopper has both chosen and been able to buy. If a product is not available, the panellist is not able to buy it.
Buyer behaviour panels do not include food and drink that has been obtained at no cost to the panellist (e.g. from food banks or gifted). Data relating to food and drink acquired through these sources is therefore not included in this analysis.
Various factors influence representation differences across socio-demographic groups. For example, as is the case in any form of panel, incentivisation levels to perform the data collection tasks are set to maximise compliance and minimise the influence on purchasing behaviour; these may be less appealing to those on higher incomes, therefore we could have a relative over-representation in lower-income households and an under-representation in high-income households.
As consumed products
Worldpanel by Numerator typically collects nutrition information for products as they are sold. There are some products which are not consumed in the same way they are sold (for example, milkshake and coffee powders, syrups or pods). Worldpanel by Numerator provide a flag within their dataset to indicate if the nutrition information for that product is ‘as consumed’. In instances where the information does not have the ‘as consumed’ flag and therefore deemed ‘as sold’, efforts were made by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) nutritionists to source the ‘as consumed’ values through online searches. Where this was not possible, standardised product-specific dilution factors were applied to the nutrition values.
For drinks categories which include as consumed products, there is an assumption that the consumer will make the product according to the manufacturer’s instructions, with the exact ratio of powder, syrup or pod to milk, and that they will be using the type of milk stated in the instructions, for example semi skimmed milk. As this category cannot accurately have sales information adjusted to ‘as consumed’ values because of limitations in the dataset, simple average reduction ambitions are used as opposed to sales weighted average.
Data quality assurance
The commercial datasets used from Worldpanel by Numerator have quality control measures built into their production processes and the data has also been cleaned by OHID.
This includes:
- checking datasets for implausible values and excluding them from the analysis
- cross-referencing to other datasets or online information
- replicating analyses as a quality control measure
- sending results of data checks and questions to data suppliers as and when they arise, where there are anomalies or other queries over the collection of certain variables or the viability of data collection from certain outlets.
- examining the results of the analysis to ensure they are plausible and comparable
When the dataset has been quality assured and cleaned, products were assigned to categories by OHID nutritionists and single serve portion sizes were analysed for plausibility and amended where necessary.
Demographic groups
Life stage
The life stage of a household is allocated based on the composition of those living within the household.
The groups considered are:
- pre family
- young family
- middle family
- older family
- adult dependents
- empty nesters
- retired
Appendix table 2 shows the list of household characteristics captured by this variable.
| Life stage | Age of main shopper | Age of youngest child |
|---|---|---|
| Pre family | Less than 45 | No children |
| Young family | Any | 0 to 4 |
| Middle family | Any | 5 to 9 |
| Older family | Any | 10 to 15 |
| Adult dependents | More than 45 | No children but 3 or more adults |
| Empty nesters | 45 to 65 | No children but 1 to 2 adults |
| Retired | More than 65 | No children but 1 to 2 adults |
8 Contact information
For queries relating to this document, please contact: PHA-OHID@dhsc.gov.uk
Social grade
The social grade of a household is allocated based on the occupation of the main income earner within the household. Retirees who have a company pension or private pension, or who have private means, are graded on their previous occupation before they retired. All other retirees are in social group E.
The groups considered are:
The Worldpanel by Numerator data assigns each household to a group based on the main income earner and groups A and B are combined in the dataset.
The analyses presented here do not consider differences in household structure and size and how this may be influencing the findings seen by social grade.